The flight home had to be one of the longest flights she had ever taken. It just seemed to drag on. Maybe it was because it was taking her from her friends and love. Tasuki had known the moment she stepped foot on the plane that she didn't want to leave him like this. She was being stubborn and just couldn't let go of her pride to accept it enough to talk to him. She loved him so much and was so hurt by it.
By the time she touched down in El Paso and started to gather her carry on, she had decided that she would call Miaka and let her know she was safe and use this time in New Mexico to come to grips with it all. Suddenly she was very glad she had gotten Chichiri that gift. Walking down the hall of the airport to meet her family, she just hoped that he would still love her when she returned and that she hadn't destroyed all by running as she had.
For now though, she needed rest, she was tired and grumpy and really just not feeling well at all. She had refused herself the luxury of seeking out Mitsukake in the last few weeks, knowing that he would help her, but also knowing that her mysterious illness would reach the others and didn't want to have to deal with them right now. She had even been avoiding Chiriko, although he had managed to worm his way back into having lunch with her that last week and he was smart enough to not bring up Chichiri. She had been glad to have her friend around her and it had cheered her from her self impossed solitude.
Upon coming downstairs, she looks around and a wave of disappointment fills her when she doesn't see her family at all. Grumbling under her breath in Japanese, she slings her bag farther up on her shoulder. "Couldn't even fucking be here to pick me up, knowing I was coming in today." She would have continued, but a familiar voice sounds behind her.
"KNOCK KNOCK.
WHO'S THERE
IT'S KOUJI
BLAH BLAH, KOUJI WHO.
KOUJI, THE FRIEND OF GENROU."
Tasuki froze and then spun around to face her best friend. "Kouji"
The man smiled down at his best buddy and they linked arms, twirling in circles. Only she would call him that, the rest of the world knew him as Larry. However, as children they had played bandit a few times and she had called him Kouji while they played and he had called her Genrou, so the names had stuck.
"Well, who else were ya expectin?" She glared at him and allowed him to take her bag as they walked towards baggage claim. "Oh, maybe my parents? I don't know."
Kouji smiled at her "Well, your brother broke his arm last night and so they called me and asked if I could come down here to get some annoying girl as they were in the ER forever it would seem." He glanced down at her and she smiled at him. "Tad?" He gave a nod and she shook his head. "That boy is accident prone. He should invest in casts. Is he ok?"
Kouji nodded and grabbed her bag, not allowing her to carry anything. She seemed very thin to him. "Yep, clean break, one of his nicest ones." She chuckled and he led the way outside to his car, putting the bags in the back and then they were off, back to Alamogordo.
The remaining Seishi and their Miko were in Taka and Miaka's apartment, watching a movie. None of them were really into it, but they had all managed to gravitate towards their Miko's house not soon after Tasuki had taken off, they had come and gone to take care of business, but were once again all together. It was getting later in the afternoon and the movie was just finishing, credits rolling, when the phone rang.
Chichiri looked at it and repressed the urge to jump for it, wanting to know if it was Tasuki on the other end. However, this was not his home and he had no right to do so, and so he just watched as Miaka stood and answered the phone calmly.
He felt his heart would stop when she suddenly smiled and yelped into the phone. "Tasuki."
Tasuki had only been home for about 30 minutes when the need to talk to her Miko became overwhelming. She had been sitting in the living room with Tad, laughing at his clumsiness, along with the rest of her family when she had stood, drawing their attention to her.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to make a phone call. I need to let a friend know I made it safely back, or she will tan my hide when I see her, not to mention the rest of my friends in Japan." The group just watched her walk from the door and she heard as she moved to the kitchen her mother say "Did she just say she was calling a girl?"
She started to laugh at this and picked up the phone and dialed out of country and then put in Miaka's familiar number and waited as the phone rang.
She smiled with relief, not realizing she had been nervous until she heard Miaka's voice, although she had to squealch the disappointment that it was not Chichiri that answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Miaka. I'm here."
She heard the delight in her Miko's voice as she exclaimed her name. "Tasuki."
Tasuki heard on the other end what sounded like a loud group of people suddenly talking at once and she began to laugh as it would seem all their friends were over there. She heard Nuriko yelling out that she was going to be in big trouble for leaving without saying good bye when she got back and some others popping in also. However, she did not hear Chichiri's voice and didn't comment. She just informed Miaka that she was home safely and gave her a time for her arrival back before hanging up. She would use a phone card next time.
The phone conversation didn't last long, and Miaka had written down the information about Tasuki's returning flight and they had said good bye. She turned to the others and smiled, although it faltered a bit at Chichiri's unhappy face. "She made it back to her home and I got her returning flight information." This explanation gave the group a sense of hope that their Tasuki would return to normal upon her return.
Christmas flew by and Tasuki still wasn't feeling all that good. It was now the 27th of December and she was over at Kouji's house, helping his family remove their christmas decorations, as was their custom. Her family would bring theirs down the 2nd of January. She had always loved going to Kouji's house, it was like a second family to her.
She, however, did begin to catch the looks his family was tossing her way and had barely held her tongue about it. Finally all the decorations were packed and She followed Kouji up to his room and made herself comfortable on his beanbag, one she always claimed as hers on her visits there. Out of all of Kouji's friends, she was the only female that was even allowed in his room. It had not taken alot of convincing to get his parents to realize she was just a friend when they had first met and she had never shown any interest in their son romantically. It was like she was just another guy to them.
So, now she sat, looking at something Kouji had gotten for christmas when she felt his eyes on her. She looked up at him to find him studying her. "What?"
He smiled at her rude tone, but didn't take it personally. "Ok, Genrou. Spill it. What the hell is wrong with you?"
She blushed and looked away, wondering where to start. She and Kouji had discussed past lives before, when they had tried to figure out the meaning of her dreams. He was the only one besides Tad that knew she dreamt of the Suzaku Seishi, although she hadn't told him about finding them in Japan yet.
Gathering her thoughts, she looked at him and saw him, for a moment, in bandit clothes. Since she had first seen him upon her return, at the airport, she had realized that this was the reincarnation of her closest friend from her time as the bandit Genrou.
"Do you remember my dreams?" At his nod she continued. "Well, I was met at the airport by Tamahome when I first arrived in Japan." She continued to explain it all to him, meeting the Seishi, gaining her memory back upon seeing Hotohori and Nuriko. She delved a little into the renewed relationship she shared with Chichiri and ended with her description of the female teacher incident and his behavior prior to it. When she finished he was silent, staring at her.
She looked up at him and he suddenly grinned "That is so cool. I had always thought you were Tasuki, reincarnated. To find them waiting for you." They smiled at each other and she knew she would have to tell him about Genrou's Kouji soon. However, he continued on about Chichiri. "So, you became stubborn and have been ignoring him as much as possible eh?" She nodded and he sighed, shaking his head. "Tasuki, you are one of the most thickheaded people I know." He caught her affronted look and amended that "After Dennis." She growled at him "Don't fuckin' compare me to him, Kouji." He smiled at her, mocking her outrage.
She sighed softly "I spent the whole trip back thinking about him and what I would say the next time I saw him." He grinned at her and purposely misread what she said "What, Dennis?" She was upset and he just wanted to make her smile. She just glared instead. "No, dumbass. Chichiri."
She sighed and laid out on the beanbag. "I really feel I must speak to him, but I don't know what to say!" She looked miserable as she sat there.
"Well, why don't you call him and say "chichiri, I'm a dumbass. I should have let you explain yourself, but instead I ran away like a scared little girl. I love you and ummph" he was cut off and she flew at him and beat him up. "I was not a scared little girl." Her smacks turned to tickles and he was soon yelling with laughter at this. Finally, after many cries of Uncle, she let him up and sat back in the beanbag chair. "You really think I should call him?" Her voice was thoughtful and she looked up to see him nodding and holding out his phone.
"OH no, Kouji, I refuse to let you pay for this call. I have a phone card." She dug into her pocket and pulled it out. He raised an eyebrow and she smiled "I had been thinking about it, just didn't have the courage to do it yet." He was still offering the phone to her so she took it and quickly dialed the numbers on the card and then Chichiri's phone number. She met with his answering machine and she declined to leave a message.
Grumbling about message machines under her breathe, she redialed and called Miaka. Taka picked up on the second ring and she switched to Japanese.
Taka looked up from the dresser where he was gathering a few clothes items and looked to the ringing phone. Miaka also looked up. "I bet that is Nuriko, asking if we are packed yet. We don't leave till tomorrow, I swear that woman." She accepted the clothes from Taka as she said this and watched him grab the phone. "Hello?"
His face brightened suddenly "Tasuki. How are you, what is going on?" He listened for a moment and then shook his head, his face lighting with a bigger grin. "Nope, Chichiri is not here. He said something about visiting some friends and left two days ago." He listened and tried to not look at his wife as he spoke into the phone. "Sure will, I'll have him call you as soon as I see him." He hung up after wishing the redhead goodbye and smiled at his thrilled wife.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
Taka just shrugged "Thought it would be more fun this way." They burst out laughing and when the phone rang just a few minutes later, it was Nuriko, asking if they are packed and ready to go.
Tasuki hung up the phone in disappointment and looked at Kouji with a sigh. "Well, he went to visit some friends and isn't around. I guess I will have to wait till he calls, if he calls, or wait till I return to Japan."
She slumped back dejectedly into her seat and tried to not pout. After about 5 minutes of watching her pout, as that is what she was doing, Kouji sighed and stood. "Oh stop pouting. Come on, it's Sunday and almost 1. Let's go to the park and hit people."
She looked up and then nodded. "Well, get dressed and then we will run to my house to let me change. I have to grab my weapons anyways." She walked out of his room to let him change and made her way down to the kitchen where his mom was doing dishes.
Without being asked, she picked up a towel and began to dry.
"Are you ok, Genevieve?" Tasuki looked up at her second mother and nodded "Just tired. Not getting over my jetlag this time, plus the change in weather and such. I will be fine." She finished putting the few dishes away, knowing this kitchen like her own or Miaka's and hung the towel up. The motherly woman just smiled "Well, you should rest. We are glad you are home for Christmas though. Did you enjoy your present?"
Tasuki smiled at the woman, who was a sucker for all things southwest and had given Tasuki powdered chili's and other unique food items from the southwest that she knew she could take back with her to Japan. "Oh yes, I miss green chili's. I wish they were in season, I want a grilled one so badly." She sighed at the thought of it and felt her mouth get moist with saliva. Oh Suzaku, she was turning into Miaka. She just laughed at the thought and smiled to her second mom.
Kouji came downstairs in his Amtgard gear and had a regulation sword over one shoulder. "Well, ready Genrou? Time to kick some arse." She smiled at him and bidding his mother good bye, who told the two to have fun, they left his house.
Stopping by her house for a quick change into her own garb and grabbing a few weapons, they left for Washington Park to have a round of fighting with their friends.
Kouji had questioned her staff when she had grabbed it with her two short swords, but she didn't know why she had it, and just said "Just in case." She also had some of her fireballs attached to her belt and when they arrived at the park, they were immediately circled by their friends.
The usual battle of who would get Kouji and Genrou ensued and they were split, going to opposite teams. That meant that Tasuki would be fighting Kouji off, as that is what usually happened.
She sighed with pleasure and felt her adrenaline start to rush as she heard the shout to start and rushed towards her friend, their swords meeting in a thud.
As usual, others went down around them and retreated to the sidelines to watch and Tasuki and Kouji continued to fight. Finally she managed to disarm him and tapped him on the side with her weapons, signaling his death. She stood back, smiling at her friend, listening to the laughter and claps from the sidelines.
She turned to smile at the others and her eyes widened when a shock of blue was all she seemed to see. Chichiri was standing on the sidelines, behind the others, watching her with a masked expression. One that she knew very well.
She glanced at Kouji who had stood and moved beside her. He whispered quietly "Is that Chichiri?" She gave a nod and looked up at him. "So, he isn't my imagination, eh?"
The others were moving back onto the field and calling for teams again. Tasuki just excused herself, but to the disappointment of the others and made her way to the sidewalk, where Chichiri was watching her. She dropped her weapons onto the grass before she arrived next to him.
He looked down at her and the pain in his eyes mirrored her own. "What are you doing here, Chichiri?"
Chichiri sat with his friends on Christmas and opened gifts. Tasuki's absense was still present in all their minds. However, the gifts she had selected for them showed that she cared for them. Finally, at the bottom of the bag a small box was drawn, with Chichiri's name on it. It was passed to him.
He opened it, almost as if he was afraid and gasped softly at the ring inside of it.
A few weeks before they had fought, she had joined him at his house to gather a few items and had come across a cheap ring that he had gotten as a joke gift one year. She had pilferred it and worn it all weekend, him teasing her that she was slipping back to her old bandit style ways. When she had tried to return it on Sunday evening he had requested she keep it, that it was an inexpensive piece of metal. He noticed she had worn it, even after they had fought. However in his hands was an almost exact replica of the one she had kept. Only, as he lifted it from it's box and examined it, he noticed the engravings on the inside. In ancient Chinese text were the symbols for their names, Tasuki and Chichiri. She had matched his ring and engraved their names on the inside. He looked at the outside engravings, ones that at first glance looked similiar to the simple design on the ring she wore, but upon closer inspection had a pheonix hidden in the design.
He slipped it on and refused to take it off, even to let the others see. He had spent the rest of the day thinking of her and had come to the decision, that he didn't care how, but he had to go see her. He was thankful to have a passport that was valid and upon explaining his plans with his friends, Hotohori had made a few calls and had gotten him a 1st class ticket on a morning flight to Texas. At the airport, the others made noices about wishing they were going and it was decided before they seperated that the others would follow in two days time to be with Tasuki and Chichiri for New Years Eve.
The flight had been long, longer then he had expected, although comfortable. He just wanted to be with her. He had caught a shuttle to her town and then had gotten a taxi to take him to her home. He was gazing out the window, taking in the mountains that loomed over her town when some activity in a park caught his eye. He saw Tasuki fighting with some guy who looked familiar with odd weapons, others stood back watching them. He had asked the cab driver to pull over and had gotten out, paying him and collecting his bags, which he set beside a truck and then stood on the sidewalk, watching the familiar moves of her. She fought like Genrou.
The fight had lasted another 5 minutes before she had disarmed her friend, whom he realized looked like Genrou's fellow bandit, Kouji and tapped his sides with her swords. His death was called and she smiled at her friend, Chichiri feeling jealousy sprout in him until she turned to smile at the others, her smile freezing as their eyes met.
He watched the Kouji lookalike talk to her and then she looked at him and nodded. Excusing herself from her friends, he felt his heart beat faster as she approached and suddenly he didn't know what he would say to her.
"What are you doing here, Chichiri?"
Her words snapped him out of his daze and he showed her the ring he wore. She looked down and then back up to him, pain in her eyes. "My present to you."
He nodded "I am so sorry, Tas-chan. I talked to Miaka. I didn't know how to handle the situation and I pushed you away, no da." She looked back at her friends, who were gazing at the two of them curiously and led him to a small bridge over a waterless ravine not far away and she leaned against the rails, looking down at the grafiti covered walls of the concrete below. "Why did you do it then, Chiri-chan?"
Her eyes moved to him and he sighed, leaning also. "The charade was so hard for me, Tasuki, no da. To be around you in school and in class and pretend you are nothing to me was so hard. The more time we spent together, the more I would catch myself slipping in class, no da. I almost called you Tasuki three times in one class and I knew that I was not coping well, no da." He looked at her, their eyes meeting.
"It was hard for me too, Chichiri, each time I would look up and see you in the front of the class I would have to pull myself together and put my attention back on my work. So many times I wanted to call you Chichiri, instead of Ri-sensei. But at least I had weekends where my old Chichiri was back." She drifted off. "Then I didn't even have that."
He sighed, looking out across the valley to some mountains in the distance. "I thought I was doing well, until you gave yourself to me, no da. Suddenly I had you in ways I haven't had anyone else since I had you as Genrou. Even back then you could distract me and in this body, it is no different, no da. The only way I was going to get through this semester was to distance myself from you as much as possible. And it always seemed as if we were going out in public with the other Seishi, no da. I couldn't hold you, kiss you or be around you as I wanted to be. The only time I could be myself with you was at night in Miaka and Taka's spare room, no da. I am sorry I pushed you away, no da."
He turned to find tears in her eyes as she gazed up at him. "You don't hate me?" He shook his head "Oh, Chichiri, I just wanted you to acknowledge me when we were with the others, but even Miaka saw how you treated me. I was so hurt." He felt pain as he watched her. Even with as strong as his Tasuki could be, the monk knew that his bandit always showed her/his sensative side to him. It had been like that before, and it was like that now.
He sighed and turned to her. "I noticed you are no longer my student, no da." She gave a nod "The day I caught you with that woman, I had changed my schedule. I figured if I was no longer your student, you would be free to be more open with me. I am sorry I was so stubborn to not listen to you before, Chichiri."
He nodded "About that woman..." her fingers touched his lips and she cut him off. "Don't worry about her. I know how she is. I haven't been angry about her in a long time, no da." She grinned impishly to him and he captured her lips quickly, pulling her to him.
For a moment all of the others and surroundings disappeared agian and she let herself just feel him. Until she became aware of the clapping and cheering of others. Breaking away she shook her head at the gathered friends, watching the two of them. Then she ran from Chichiri, after Kouji, who she knew had instigated it.
"JUST WAIT TILL I CATCH YOU KOUJI, I SWEAR I'M GOING TO FUCKIN' KILL YOU." Chichiri smiled at the accent in her voice. The southwestern thing was very adorable. He smiled with happiness as she chased her friend around the field where the others watched with amusement. "Everything is going to be just fine now, no da." he said to himself as he made his way to her, where she had tackled her friend and was now tickling him mercilessly, him crying Uncle.